Community Supporters

Equality and Diversity

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is committed to creating a fully inclusive and accessible service.

Making equality and diversity an integral part of the business will enable us to enhance the services we deliver and better meet the needs of patients and staff.

We will treat people with dignity and respect, actively promote equality and diversity, and eliminate all forms of discrimination regardless of (but not limited to) age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage/civil partnership and pregnancy/maternity.

The Trust has gone some way towards embedding Equality and Diversity into its day to day business including:
Equality Impact Assessments are undertaken on all appropriate policies, strategies, procurement and service and organisational proposals
Equality and Diversity is included in the Trust’s induction programme, the mandatory update programme, HCA and preceptorship training and F1 and F2 Doctors training.

Local Population

Plymouth’s population has increased by over 15,000 (6%) since 2006, yet this is below the growth rate in England (8.4%). Plymouth, at mid-year 2016, had an estimated population of 264,200; females accounting for 50.2% and males 49.8%. The age groups which have seen the biggest percentage increase over the last 10 years are the 60-65 year olds and those aged 90 and over. There will be a shift in the population structure of Plymouth over the next 20 years as the proportion of the population aged 65 and over increases.

Overall the health and wellbeing of the Plymouth population is mixed compared with the England average. Life expectancy in Plymouth for males is age 78.5 years and for females 82.5 years. In terms of inequalities, the life expectancy gap between those living in the most deprived areas and those in the least deprived areas remains significant.

The 2011 Census recorded that Christians (58.1%) were still the largest faith community although their numbers had declined significantly since the previous census in 2001. While a majority of people still identify with some religion, our society is becoming more secular: more people than ever before identify with no religion (32.9%). Some faith communities (Islam, Hinduism) grew rapidly between the census in 2001 and the census 2011, principally because of migration. Plymouth is becoming more diverse.

Whilst the proportion of the population that are White British remains higher than the UK average, this is decreasing. At the time of the 2001 census 97 per cent of Plymouth’s population was White British, by 2011 this had decreased to 93 per cent. The Polish, Chinese and Kurdish communities are amongst the largest.

The census records show that there are at least 43 main languages spoken in the city and nearly 100 different languages are spoken in Plymouth schools. Local population growth between the 2001 and 2011 census had been driven by migration from outside the UK (63%), most commonly from newly admitted EU countries. Plymouth is also a dispersal area for asylum seekers; around 300 people will be accommodated in the city at any given time. There is no precise local data on numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people in Plymouth, but nationally the government have estimated this to be between 5-7 per cent and the Stonewall Charity agree with this estimation.

Between April 2016 and January 2017 there were 346 crimes recorded that were identified as a hate crime. This is an increase of 86 crimes (33%) on the same period in 2015/16. An analysis of hate crime offences and hate incidents reveals that around 75% per cent were categorised as racism.

Plymouth remains a relatively low wage economy with over 20% of the city’s households earning less than £17,500 and over half earning less than £27,000. Alongside this, the proportion of those excluded from the labour market in Plymouth has been increasing since 2010. Over 29% of adults in Plymouth are already over indebted, one of the highest levels in the country and the highest in the South West. 28% of Plymouth households do not have access to a vehicle.

(Source: Plymouth City Council Report 2017)

Please click on the links below to see our equality data summaries (all information on the Equality and Diversity web pages is available in alternative formats upon request).

Patient data

There has been a slight decrease in the proportion of patient ethnicity that is recorded as unknown. This is in part due to the introduction of the electronic sign in kiosks in outpatient areas which allows patients to update this information themselves

Equality Delivery System – EDS2

The Trust has completed an assessment against the four goals of the Equality Delivery System. This report was produced in December 2018.